India and New Zealand prepare to implement a landmark free trade agreement in October, promising expanded market access, reduced tariffs, and a $20 billion investment pledge to strengthen economic ties.
India’s free trade agreement with New Zealand is expected to take effect in the latter half of October, according to Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, marking a significant step in a pact designed to deepen trade, investment and services ties between the two countries. An official cited by PTI said the agreement could begin on 19 October, with formal confirmation due shortly as both governments complete operational preparations.
The deal, signed on 27 April, gives India duty-free access for all of its exports to New Zealand, while New Zealand’s trade ministry says the agreement will also open up preferential access for its exporters to India. According to New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 95% of current exports to India will eventually benefit, with 57% receiving full tariff elimination immediately and 82% covered over time.
For New Zealand, the agreement is especially important because India is a large but still relatively underpenetrated market. The ministry says India is New Zealand’s 11th-largest goods and services export destination, with total exports worth NZ$2.03 billion in the year ended December 2025. New Zealand has framed the pact as part of a wider effort to diversify export markets and strengthen a rules-based trading system.
The agreement covers goods, services and investment, and both sides have highlighted the scale of the economic opportunity. New Zealand says the deal will improve access for sectors including sheep meat, wool, coal, fish and seafood, while also creating new quota access for kiwifruit and apples. On the Indian side, existing tariffs of up to 10% on products such as ceramics, carpets, automobiles and auto components are expected to be reduced or removed, while New Zealand has also pledged to invest $20 billion in India over 15 years.
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